Consumer perception of printed point-of-purchase displays

Aino Mensonen, Maiju Aikala, Janne Laine, Anu Seisto
E-mails: firstname.surname@vtt.fi
VTT, The Technical Research Centre of Finland, PL 1000, FI-02044 VTT, Finland

Abstract

Hedonic shopping value is built with consumers’ fantasies, feelings and fun, and it is more subjective than the utilitarian value, which stems from task completion. From the hedonic point of view, it is important to create positive associations and please the consumer. The hedonic aspect of shopping influences satisfaction with the retailer and positive word of mouth, which have an important role in building store loyalty.

Brand owners (BO) communicate their values through multiple platforms, including point-of-purchase (POP) displays. The material choices of the platform must be in line with the message of the BO. It is therefore of interest to know what kinds of mental impressions the consumers gain and attach to POP displays when the material used or the printing method is changed. Getting the message right is very important for building the right kind of image and for stressing the hedonic shopping value.

In this study, we use the experience map to get a better understanding of the hedonic shopping value associated to a selection of (POP) displays. The experience map is used for visualising how the consumers associate different mental impressions with POP display samples and which visual parameters characterise the same samples. Seven samples of POP displays of sweet selling racks were chosen for the study, of which six were printed by inkjet and one by offset. Six different board samples were used, including one sample of corrugated board.

The results indicate that the experience map is well suited to evaluating the mental and visual attributes of the POP displays. Moreover, the experience map can be used to gain a better understanding of hedonic shopping value. Material choices had a clear effect on the mental attributes evoked by the samples. With the right material choices, the inkjet print quality is a good enough substitute for the offset print quality in sweet selling racks and communicating the message of the BO in the desired way. In this case, the consumers preferred the white background in delivering the message of fresh, berried (rich in berries) and delicious sweets over the brown background. The brown background was associated with an ecological image but at the same time it was experienced as fusty (stale) and cheap.

Keywords: consumer experience, experience map, hedonic shopping value, inkjet, POP displays, user experience, substrate selection

JPMTR 014 ⎮ 1217 Research paper
UDC 655.3.066.23:658.8.013

Received: 2012-11-05
Accepted: 2012-11-20

Local television content production: process structures and climate impacts – a case study

Malin Picha Edvardsson^{1, 2, 3}, Yevgeniya Arushanyan^{3, 4}, Åsa Moberg^{3, 4}
E-mails: picha@kth.se; arushanyan@abe.kth.se; moberg@abe.kth.se
¹ Swedish Media Publishers’ Association Box 22 500, SE-104 22 Stockholm, Sweden
² KTH Royal Institute of Technology, School of Computer Science and Communication, Department of Media Technology and Interaction Design SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
³ KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Centre for Sustainable Communications, CESC SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
⁴ KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Division of Environmental Strategies Research, fms, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract

The business environment in which media companies exist today is rapidly changing. If they have not done so already, media companies need to position themselves to this ongoing change and find their place in the new media landscape. However, this could also mean a good opportunity to optimize work processes on different levels. In order to meet these opportunities, as well as being proactive when it comes to environmental performance, we first need to understand the current structure of media companies, for example when it comes to work processes.

The aim of this study is to identify and analyze the process structure and the potential climate impact of the content production of the local television station TV4 Gävle/Dalarna in Sweden. The study objectives are:

• to identify the major editorial and marketing processes and to visualize the two workflows in order to discover how the processes could be optimized and how this in turn may affect the environmental impact.
• to assess the carbon footprint of the content production of the local television station and to identify the major reasons for this climate change impact.

Two main methods were used – semi-structured interviews and carbon footprint assessment.

The editorial part of the workflow is centered on broadcasting news at certain times. A total of nine process steps were identified in the editorial workflow. The largest amount of person hours can be found in the process steps of content production and content editing. Work is done in order to meet the deadlines which come every time there is a broadcast. This fact puts special demands on the personnel, such as an ability to manage stress and short deadlines, and an ability to handle the technical equipment in one-person teams. There is a total of seven process steps on the marketing side, two of which are located outside of the local television station.

A large part of the carbon footprint from the TV4 Gävle / Dalarna content production is caused by business trips by car. The editorial department makes most of the business trips, but the marketing department is also responsible for some of the trips. The total carbon footprint from the television production is estimated to 52 tons of CO2 eq/year, including the employees’ trips to and from the workplace. The trips to and from work is the second largest contributor to the carbon footprint. When considering the impact per viewer, the result is 0.35 kg of CO2 eq/viewer and year.

Judging from today’s situation, the efficiency on the editorial side is very good. However, it might still be fruitful to consider the travelling practices in order to improve the overall environmental performance.

Keywords: carbon footprint, environmental impact, LCA, media, television, workflow structure

JPMTR 015 ⎮ 1214 Case study
UDC 551.588:654.172

Received: 2012-04-10
Accepted: 2012-07-23

Evaluation of a simple approach for color gamut boundary determination of a point cloud

Kirsten Nahrgang and Peter Urban
E-mails: nahrgang@uni-wuppertal.de; purban@uni-wuppertal.de
University of Wuppertal Printing and Media Technologies, Wuppertal, Germany

Abstract

The color gamut of a printing device is commonly used to give information about the printing quality of a system. Various algorithms for determining the color gamut boundary based on a point cloud have been developed previously. These differ from each other in some aspects.

In this paper a new method for color boundary determination and assessment is presented. In this approach we vary the parameters needed for determination according to the characteristics of the input data. In this way we achieve optimal computation of the color gamut boundary. Different parameters are analyzed, quantified and combined to reach the best accuracy of the color gamut boundary.

Our method is implemented in Microsoft Excel© using Visual Basic. Color gamuts can be visualized in both three- and two-dimensional space and analyzed according to their color volume and the reproducibility of spot colors. Exemplarily, the capacity of the Color Gamut Calculator is shown for the lithographic printing process. A complex analysis of the color gamut can be readily achieved, and the tool is easy to apply in the graphic arts industry or in R&D.

Keywords: color reproduction, color gamut boundary determination, color point cloud, gamut volume, concavity,
convexity, color gamut descriptor

JPMTR 016 ⎮ 1203 Research paper
UDC 655.2+535.64

Received: 2012-02-14
Accepted: 2012-09-25

Model for calculation of design and electrical parameters of thermoelectric generators

Andreas Willfahrt, Erich Steiner
E-mails: willfahrt@hdm-stuttgart.de; steiner@hdm-stuttgart.de
Stuttgart Media University, Stuttgart, Germany

Abstract

Energy harvesting – the conversion of ambient energy into electrical energy – is a frequently used term nowadays. Several conversion principles are available, e.g., photovoltaics, wind power and water power. Lesser-known are thermoelectric generators (TEG) although they were already studied actively during and after the world wars in the 20th century (Caltech Material Science, n. d.). In this work, the authors present a mathematical model for the calculation of input or output parameters of printed thermoelectric generators. The model is strongly related to existing models (Freunek et al., 2009; Rowe, 1995; Glatz et al., 2006) for conventionally produced TEGs as well as for printed TEGs. Thermal effects as investtigated by Freunek et al. (2009; 2010) could be included. In order to demonstrate the benefit of the model, two examples of calculations are presented. The parameters of the materials are derived from existing printing inks reported elsewhere (Chen et al., 2011; Wuesten and Potje-Kamloth, 2008; Zhang et al., 2010; Liu et al., 2011; Bubnova et al., 2011). The printing settings are chosen based on feasibility and convenience.

Keywords: screen printing, thermoelectric generator, energy harvesting, modelling

JPMTR 012 ⎮ 1205 Research paper
UDC 655.2:621.362

Received: 2012-04-04
Accepted: 2012-010-05

Variable data printing (VDP) quality aspects on fibre based packaging – an elementary print quality study on corrugated board

Marcus Rehberger^{1 ,2 ,3}, Astrid Odeberg Glasenapp¹, Xiaofan Zhang²
E-mails: astrid.glasenapp@innventia.com; xfzhang@kth.se; marcus.rehberger@tetrapak.com
¹ Innventia, Stockholm, Sweden
² Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
³ Tetra Pak Packaging Solutions AB, Lund, Sweden

Abstract

Variable data printing (VDP) is a technique whereby certain information can be altered in an otherwise static layout with the help of a digital printing system, and in the packaging industry a wide range of applications are possible. Inkjet printing, due to its non-impact printing (NIP) principle, is the most suitable technique to be implemented in packaging production (van Daele, 2005). Only when printing high volumes is inkjet printing much more expensive than conventional printing (Viström et al., 2006). However, the advantages of inkjet printing could still be adopted by another approach.

At Innventia AB, the “HybSpeed Printing” project was initiated to study the combination of a conventional printing process with inkjet printing. The aim of the project is to assess the practicability of attaining high quality VDP at high speed on a variety of packaging papers for corrugated board production. The exploratory trials were conducted on a Kodak Versamark DP5240 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, in cooperation with the Mid-Sweden University – Digital Printing Centre (DPC). Nine different substrates, white top and pure white liner, single-coated, double-coated, kraftliner and testliner were printed at a speed of 2 m s^-1.

Rehberger et al. (2010) described in an earlier study that high-speed inkjet printing at 5 m s^-1 has only an insignificant influence on the print quality. In this article, the influence of paper properties is discussed and it is shown that the paper quality has a considerable influence on the print quality. All paper qualities led to an acceptable print result at a medium print resolution. Speed is the most important factor for inline implementation of inkjet, but the tests revealed that the paper properties are most decisive for good print quality.

Keywords: hybrid printing, inkjet, variable data printing, packaging

JPMTR 1102 ⎮ 004 Original scientific paper
UDC 655.32.066.25

Received: 2010-11-02
Accepted: 2011-07-05